It is widely accepted that a significant reduction in accidents involving commercial trucks and trailers is likely to be achieved by ensuring that key components of such equipment are inspected on a regular basis. Such inspections can detect worn tires and brakes before they cause an accident.
To avoid accidents caused by defective equipment, Federal law presently requires that commercial drivers make a visual inspection of specific components on a truck (i.e., tractor and trailer), such as the brake system, fuel system, warning lights, tires, etc., performing pre- and post-trip inspections of these basic, but critical components. An exemplary vehicle inspection report listing the components and systems that must be inspected by a driver to satisfy the DOT regulations is illustrated in FIG. 7. However, under the current system, a driver is only required to fill out a paper log and keep it on file for 90 days. Many experts report that less than half of the drivers ever perform the check. Instead, many drivers simply fill out the report while seated in the cab of the truck or in a coffee shop. The report is meaningless unless the listed components and systems have actually been inspected. For example, a driver who fails to actually inspect components on his vehicle will fail to detect that brake fluid is leaking from a hydraulic master brake cylinder. As a result, the brakes on the driver's truck may fail, potentially causing a serious accident.
A signed inspection report does not provide any assurance that a driver actually inspected the components included on the report. It would be desirable to provide technology to at least ensure that a driver (or other person doing an inspection) was physically present in the vicinity of each component requiring inspection, even if the driver is not compelled to affirmatively inspect all of the components. Most people, if required to actually walk to a component such as a tire of a truck, will then be more willing to at least look at the condition of the component, particularly if the task of indicating the condition of the component if there is a problem, is made relatively simple and efficient.
Encouraging safety inspections of equipment by creating a record providing evidence that a person doing the inspection actually visited each component that must be inspected has utility in many other applications and for many other types of equipment than trucks in the transportation industry. The concept is also useful in confirming the safe operating condition of machinery and components in other systems in which accidents related to equipment malfunction and failure must be avoided. For example, such a need exists in high-risk chemical and petrochemical operations, where periodic inspections of valves, pressure vessels, gages, and other components must be carried out to avoid potentially disastrous and costly accidents in which significant loss of life and property might occur.